Mind performance hacks
by Ron Hale-Evans · first published 2006
14mentions
10recommended by
12HN commenters
2009–2025first – last mentioned
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Collection of practical brain-training techniques, from breathing exercises and meditation to memory mnemonics and cognitive-distortion tips; suits readers who want hands-on tricks rather than theory.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/59-seconds-think-a-littl... It presents practical advice based on research papers in the field. A good book on brain hacks like the aforementioned spaced repetition is "Mind Performance Hacks": http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Performance-Hacks-Tools-Overclock... And another good read is "Pragmatic Thinking and Learning": http://pragprog.com/book/ahptl/pragmatic-thinking-and-learni... You can…
on “Dizzying but invisible depth” ↗Mind Performance hacks (http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/personal-productivity/0...) by Ron Hale-Evans, and his web site (http://www.ludism.org/mentat).
on “Ask HN: What books to read on developing mental models and increasing cognition?” ↗Mind Performance Hacks by Ron Hale-Evans has a bunch of recipes which deal with meditation. You could probably get it on http://safari.informit.com I think the first couple of weeks is free. Fourfold Breath is the basic technique.…
on “Ask YC: Meditation Advice” ↗A great read for this is "Avoid Cognitive Distortions (Hack 58)" in O'Reilly's "Mind Performance Hacks" book: http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596101534/ There's too much to quote here, but the basic premise is: Learn to avoid 15 mental mistakes that distort your emotions and further distort your thinking
on “Ask HN: How can I quit talking myself out of my own ideas?” ↗…To improve your cognitive toolkit, understand how and why your brain processes data, and change the way you think to improve processing speed 100 times. This book tells you how. http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Performance-Hacks-Tools-Overclock...
on “What Scientific Concept Would Improve Everybody's Cognitive Toolkit?” ↗The Now Habit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination... Mind Hacks: Tips and Tricks for Using Your Brain - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Hacks-Tricks-Using-Brain/dp/059... Mind Performance Hacks: Tips & Tools for Overclocking Your Brain - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Performance-Hacks-Tools-Overclo...
on “Ask HN: which are some good self-help books?” ↗While it's more pragmatic and covers broader ground, "Mind Performance Hacks" by Ron Hale-Evans has its first chapter on memory, and I can recommend it all around.
on “Remembering, as an Extreme Sport” ↗Copy paragraphs from textbooks. Time-consuming but forces one to slow down and think. Memorization mnemonics. Shuffling through index cards to associate numbers to words. See Mind Performance Hacks (2006) from O'Reilly. Make notebooks with cheap filler paper, high-capacity stapler, and duct tape. Use G2 pens or archival quality ink. Make your own index cards: fold in half and then into thirds;…
on “Ask HN: Low Effort but Useful Activities” ↗…continuing with this system, and he replied: > No, I use a new system that I've been using for I think 3 years now. Much simpler and less time consuming. Google around for it- it is also described in book "Mind Performance Hacks 2". The key ideas are open spaces, numbered pages, and tags-like indexes.
on “How to Make a Complete Map of Every Thought You Think (2003)” ↗I've read "Mind Performance Hacks" - it's a cool book. The author put up a great wiki on this stuff too: http://www.ludism.org/mentat Though I went right ahead to Dominic O'Brien's stuff first - he's the world's best. Like any skill…
on “No gain from brain training” ↗…skipped a whole page." Solve this with a "catch": something you use to empty the distracting ideas from your head, then get back to what you're doing. The original suggestion for a catch I found in "Mind Performance Hacks" by Ron Hale-Evans was a piece of paper and a writing utensil. These days with all sorts of apps to "catch" ideas, you have plenty of options. I've become very comfortable with org-mode myself.
on “A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (2010) [pdf]” ↗…productive with my aging wetware. The first chapter is several memorization techniques, all related to hanging vivid associations to numbers, keywords, and physical spaces. [1] Hale-Evans, Ron. 2006. "Mind Performance Hacks."
on “How I Learned to Concentrate” ↗O'Reilly has that Mind Performance Hacks book [1], and apparently a second similar title I haven't read [2] https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/mind-performance-hacks/... https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/mind-hacks/0596007795/ The first…
on “Ask HN: Short term memorization strategies/techniques?” ↗…those[0] quotes the author of this page saying: > I use a new system that I've been using for I think 3 years now. Much simpler and less time consuming. Google around for it- it is also described in book "Mind Performance Hacks 2". The key ideas are open spaces, numbered pages, and tags-like indexes. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8079253
on “How to Make a Complete Map of Every Thought You Think (2003)” ↗